Time for the baby-hugging test! How do Obama and Romney shape up on politics' most unpredictable photo opp?

The baby-hugging photo opportunity is an age-old test for any politician and can sometimes define an entire campaign.

George W Bush was famously shown looking petrified with a crying youngster, appearing even more clueless than usual as to how to stop it from wailing.

Some would say it mirrored the control he had over the country.

With that in mind, MailOnline asked body language and behaviour expert Judi James how the current crop of U.S. politicians fared when it came to tackling their tiniest constituents.

We showed her pictures of President Barack Obama and Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, both taken yesterday, holding young children. And she told us how the way they acted can be interpreted.

How do they fare: President Barack Obama (left) looks 'ill at ease' in Chicago, Illinois, while Mitt Romney (right) adopts a grandfatherly pose, said behaviour expert Judi James, in Columbia, South Carolina

Kissing babies has been a staple of political campaigning for decades, so much so that I would suspect many of these children are planted in the crowd in the U.S. to supply a winning photo opportunity (Especially the baby Obama is holding who looks suspiciously newly-coiffed and who has an enormous bib in case of accidents).

In the UK, politicians prefer to avoid the baby shots like the plague, knowing they're fraught with danger, especially when the baby cries or screams as the sight of their face, but in the U.S. its still seen as a rite of passage.

The pose is instantly newsworthy, a bit like Paris Hilton kissing one of her dogs.

The politician is shown marginally more spontaneous than they are in other set poses, plus they are seen to be 'normalised', as in anyone given a baby to hold by its parent must seem quite normal in the flesh.

There's also a message about trust. No parent in their right mind would give their baby to a stranger, therefore this politician must exude signals of trustworthiness, which might therefore extend to their politics.

BARACK OBAMA

Fearful: Obama's staring-out of the child could bring on some tears, said Judi James, because the baring of teeth could be interpreted as aggressive

For a father with children Obama looks fatally ill-at-ease with this photo-opportunity baby, even staring it out face-to-face, which implies he might not be quite the body language maestro he has otherwise seemed, as a stare-out like this is almost guaranteed to bring on at the very least a look of utter bewilderment or at worst a fear response and even crying from the child.

Although he's smiling desperately in a bid to get the baby to mirror his expression, close-up wide smiles like his can often be seen as a form of feigned attack by a baby who wouldn't understand the skills of political masking and might just see bared teeth.

Obama is a modern politician, meaning he is probably allergic to these more cheesier, contrived poses and he also seems aware of the accident potential in young babies, which might be why he's keeping a little distance from it.

And although holding it and smiling upward at it might create a good pose in terms of valuing and investing in the newest generation of Americans he looks keen to give the baby back cuddle and kiss-free.

MITT ROMNEY

Give him back: Romney behaved more like a grandfather when he picked up this well-prepped baby, said Judi James, maybe because he wanted to immediately hand him back

Romney's adopted more of a grandfatherly pose with his well-prepped spin-baby, which looks like it has come from Central Casting, holding it up and alongside him in a look that mimics a family pose rather than dangling it like Obama's.

This creates a rather stronger suggestion of paternalism and confidence, but only for as long as the child plays ball.

Romney's smile is more than a little stretched as he gets into the pose but once the child starts to tilt forward he clearly realises he's on dangerous ground as a dropped baby isn't good for anyone's poll ratings.

His expression changes from cheery to unsure as he hands the kid back like a grenade with the pin out.

AND HERE'S HOW NOT TO REACT...

Scary: George W Bush was famously shown looking petrified with a crying youngster, appearing even more clueless than usual as to how to stop it from wailing

HOW IS THE BABY-HUGGING TOUR AFFECTING THE POLLS?

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Time for the baby-hugging test! How do Obama and Romney shape up on politics' most unpredictable photo opp?